The Motivator
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: Oliver's idea for an invention is nontraditional and comes with dangers, but he's just a man who loves his family. For my 10x10 Challenge/NaNo2018


Oliver (6): invention (5)

_The Family Motivator_

I wish that getting my family off the couch was as easy as pushing a button, well, getting off the couch together to do the same thing. We're all so different, so when it comes time to do something as a family, Catherine always wants to go shopping. Laverne wants to go shopping too, but it's to different places like the craft store or the home improvement store to dream about projects. Frankie, she's easy! She just wants to throw the ball around or play a quick game somewhere. She's easy to please, but the other two? They want nothing to do with family time unless it's something THEY picked out. There is no family for them. Oh no, it's all about Number 1.

Well if I could invent something, it would be a device to motivate them to do whatever the device told them. Catherine would be just fine in a game of tag football, but she's always so worried about chipping a nail. With my invention, she'd start playing regardless. Laverne would join in too, probably joining up with her so they could defeat us.

But I'm not a selfish person. I'd use the device on myself too when it does come time to go shopping. If I'm with Catherine, I'll want to find new…well, I honestly don't care enough about shopping to know what I'd be programing it to do, but that's when different users come in. She could use it on me and program it however she wants, then I'll be motivated to do anything she wants me to do with her. The same goes for Laverne. Home improvement shopping? Sure, which aisle do you want first, toilets or washing machines?

I guess there needs to be an age limit until kids are old enough to decide things for themselves. I mean, babies are so impressionable anyway, but so are kids. You don't want to force them into things too early otherwise they'll lose parts of themselves. They might be like Frankie and me and hate shopping, but we use the motivator to keep them from screaming about it and they think it's okay after that, so then maybe sports are a problem until we do the same thing, and so and so forth until they just do anything. While that's not a bad thing to be open to new things and all, they need some degree of free will or they'll never make it in this world.

So the motivator isn't for small children, just teens and older people, but not too old. Don't want to fry Granny's brain, do we? I mean, I could see it work on older people sometimes. I wish Bubby liked me more, for example, or Laverne's dad. That would've been nice. The same goes for other people too. Like what if my boss liked me more? I could use the motivator and find out. He could use the motivator to make me do work too, or maybe make me not do work if he wanted to fire me. That could be dangerous.

I guess this motivator machine could bring about the apocalypse huh? People constantly using them on each other to get their way. It starts like that—I want my family to do this thing on this day that none of them wants to do, so we program the motivator to make them do it. And then they decide to use it on that manager at the store to get a few more dollars off their clothes because, hey, why not? Then you've got a hundred people trying to use them on politicians as far down as PTO boards and as high up as federal court judges until you've got a real problem.

Hey, now you've got war over a machine I created! I think people would fry their brains and lose free will all at the same time, so you get people who don't know what they're fighting for who don't have the capacity to decide when the motivators break or a stronger motivator enters the field. People just meander until we're no longer a society. We're just a species here on this planet, like birds or something.

Maybe this is a messed up idea. I mean, I'd want to use it for good. I want to do things with my entire family without spending the entire time convincing the people who don't want to be there why they should stay. I shouldn't have to bribe my family with expensive ice cream to get them to spend time together.

I guess that's the real problem, huh? I'm spending too much time and energy just to spend time with people who should want to spend time together anyway, and yeah, I guess it's making me sick. I work six days a week, sometimes long hours if things get backed up, and even extra days if I need to. I should be able to do whatever on my off day, even if that means playing catch in the park or hanging out together in the living watching the game. Heck, the kids can even be on their phones if it means getting to see them and hear about their days. I miss so much, and it's going to stop soon. They grow up so fast, and soon they're out the door and you only hear from them when they need something. Maybe once they have kids they call up for visits, but even then they usually want something.

So I have to do something now, even if it means bringing about the apocalypse. If the motivator could be invented and was a real thing, I'd put it together in heartbeat if it meant more family time, end of discussion.

A/N: Piece 14 of 100 for the 10x10 Challenge. I'll be honest, I was worried about this theme once I realized what it was, and I still am, but this one turned out okay. Oliver just wants his family, what can I say?

If you need more info about the challenge or want to participate, head over to my profile and shoot me a message. Keep in mind that while I'm choosing to do this in a month, you can take all the time you need.


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